Key Takeaways
- An assignment links a paid license to an account, a person, or a device.
- Assigned licenses are not automatically used licenses.
- In Microsoft 365, the license of a deleted account immediately becomes available for other people.
- Without cleanup upon departure, assignments remain in place and continue to incur costs.
How does license assignment work?
A license assignment usually takes place in the provider's admin console or via groups in the directory service. The company purchases a quantity of licenses and distributes them to accounts. Microsoft describes the principle for Microsoft 365 as follows: purchased licenses are assigned to individual people and reassigned when someone leaves.
Why do license assignments become outdated?
License assignments become outdated because staff and roles change faster than the assignments themselves.
- Departures where accounts are not cleaned up
- Team changes after which a tool is no longer needed
- Trial accounts that remain active after a project ends
- Duplicate accounts for one person across multiple teams
How should small and medium-sized businesses assign licenses?
Small and medium-sized businesses should tie assignments to fixed onboarding and offboarding processes. During onboarding, the license is granted via a request to the responsible tool admin; during offboarding, it appears on a return checklist. This keeps the number of assigned licenses close to actual headcount.
Example: License Assignment in practice
Example: An architecture firm with 28 employees has purchased 30 licenses for a planning software and assigned all 30. A comparison with the staff list reveals 3 assignments to former employees. After revoking them, 3 licenses are available for the next new hires without buying additional ones.
License Assignment vs. License Usage
| Aspect | License Assignment | License Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | who is permitted to use software | who actually uses it |
| Data source | Admin console, directory service | Logins, activity data |
| Time reference | State at a point in time | Activity over a period |
| Typical error | Assignment remains after departure | Infrequent but necessary usage is overlooked |
License assignment shows who is permitted to use software, whereas license usage shows who actually used it during the observed period.
How does Sovaro help with License Assignment?
Sovaro shows per app how many licenses are paid for, assigned, and used. During onboarding, access is requested from the tool admin; if a license is missing, Finance approves it. Upon departure, all known devices and access rights of the person land on a return checklist, and every step is recorded with person and timestamp in the audit log.